Garment fastener and supporter.



No. 706,909. 4 Patented A ug. l2, I902. w. L. nmsmoon. V GARMENT FASTENEB AND SUPPDRTER.

(Application filed Dec. 2, 1901.)

(No Model.)

' WITNESSES In: Noam: PETER$ 00., word-Lima, wmnmeion. o. c,

\VINFIELD L. DINSMOOR,

PATENT FFICE.

OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

GARMENT FASTENER AND SUPPORTER.

SEECIFIGAT ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 6,909, dated August 12, 1902.

Application filed December 2, 1901. Serial No. 84,355. (No model.)

To all 107107 it may concern/.-

Beitknown that LWINFIELD L. Dmsnoon, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and Improved Garment Fastener and Supporter, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to means for supporting and fastening together the waist and skirt of a dress and also the underskirts worn therewith, and has for its object to provide'a simple device of novel construction which .is convenient to apply, will fasten together the waistbands of undergarments and a dressskirt, and hold all the skirts. in place, preventing either one from sagging. more, the improved fastener and supporter will hold the detached waist of a dress, such as a shirt-Waist, drawn down smoothly in the back and permit the easy removal of an outer garment without releasing the underwear. The improvement also dispenses with hooks and eyes for connection of the waistbands on skirts, avoids injury thereto, and greatly facilitates the donning of garments that fit neatly upon the waist of the wearer. I

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described, and defined in the appende ed claims.

Reference'is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary rear elevation of. a dress waist and skirt held in place on a per-,

son by the improvement. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the lower garments opened at their waistbands and plaekets for display of the improved garment support and securer. Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the improved garment fastener and support. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of novel details, showing their relative arrangement. and locking connection. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary face view of a waistband for a dressskirt or undergarment, showing the application of the improvement thereto when closing the skirt vent or placket at said waistband; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail view Furtherjecting from the back plate at or near its 0011- ter for engagement within perforations in waistbands of garments at their plackets, and a slotted keeper-bar slidably heldon the staple, so as to receive longitudinal adjustment, first to permit its insertion through the perforations in the garments and then to be disposed crosswise of the staple for securing the garments thereon.

The belt 10 is made of any preferred available material having suitable width and length, and upon one end of the belt a buckle 11 is secured for engagement with the remaining end portion of the belt when it is to be secured in place on a person.

The back plate 12 is made of sheet metal of proper length and breadth, the latter dimension being somewhat greater near the ends of the back plate to permit the forma tion therein of two transverse slots (1, a near each extremity of the plate. The paired slots at at each end of the back plate 12 receive the belt 10, which is inserted therethrough, and the plate thus mounted upon the belt may be moved endwise thereon, was to dispose it near the center of. length of the belt, which will locate said plate over the spine when the belt is buckled around the waist of the wearer.

At the center of the back plate 12 a slot 1) is formed therein, which may be cruciform, as shown at b in Figs. 3 and at, or be a straight transverse slot, as represented at b in Fig. 6. The staple 13, which is designed to occupy the slot 12 or b of the back plate 12, is formed with a looped body having parallel limbs c of suitable length that terminate in oppositely-bent foot members 0, which may be laterally bent into Z form, as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4:. If the foot members a are bent into zigzag shape, as described, they will be adapted to have considerable contact with the inner surface of the back plate 12 after the staple-body has been passed outwardly through the slot 2) or b, which will prevent the staple from tipping and also prevent the, staple from being pulled out when subjected to considerable strainapplied endwise thereto. It being understood that the foot members 0 ofthe staple 13 are seated directly upon the inner surface of theback plate 12, it will be seen that the portion of the belt 10 which rests upon the back plate at its rear face will press upon the foot portions 0 of the staple and hold it in place.

The keeper-bar 14 may be bent from a wire rod, so as to provide an elongated body having two spaced sidemembers e e and looped ends, the member 6 having an outward kink 6 formed thereon at the center. Two extremities of the wire-rod material are bent to form a loop at the open end thereof when the material is Worked into shape, and the keeper-bar is loosely connected with the staple 13 by first passing one sidemember through saidstaple and then uniting the loose ends of the side bars 6 e by any suitable means.

. In Fig. 6 the staple 13 is shown provided with two straight footmembers 0 that project directly opposite from each other and .toward the side edges of the back plate 12 when the staple is passed forwardly through the transverse slot 5 in said plate. In this construction the flattened foot members 0 may be rigidly secured upon the inner face ofthe back plate 12, so as to project the staple-body at right angles to the outer face of the back plate.

To adapt garments to be fastened and supported by the improved device, buttonholes (not shown) are worked in the corset-cover and shirt-waist or detached dress-body near the lower edges of such garments and at the center of their back portions, these buttonholes being designed to receive the staple 13 and from their relative position adapt the staple when inserted successively there-- through to holdthese garments properly disposed on the person of the wearer and render the. garment smooth on the back portions thereof. The waistbands of underskirts and a like part of the exterior dress-skirt are each perforated near their ends adjacent to the placket-opening of the garment, and to render such perforations durable their edges are. preferably reinforced by the insertion of eyelets g, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

In application ofthe improvement the belt 10 is buckled upon the corset when such an article of dress is worn, the buckle 11 being at the front of the corset and the back plate at the center of the back of the wearer on the waistline. The keeper-bar 14 is now drawn endwise, so that it extends, substantially in alinement with the staple, one endof the bar contacting with the looped end of said staple, this disposal of the keeper-bar permitting its free insertion through the eyelet g at oneend dispose one end over the other end upon the staple 13. It will be seen that any number of underskirts B may be Worn, one over the other, and have their waistbands B drawn together and placed upon the staple 13 by the use of the keeper-bar 14, it being understood that a proper'length is afforded the staple for the accommodation of a plurality of skirts along with the corset-cover and dress-body or shirt-waist. After the underskirts B are donned by their connection with the staple 13 the exterior skirt 0, that forms part of the dress, is connected with the projecting end of the staple, asalready explained, and it will be evident that in-case the garment is close-fitting at the waistband 0 thereof the leverage afforded by the extendedkeeper-bar 1ft will greatly facilitate the donning of this skirt, which completes the costume of the wearer. When all the skirts are connected with the belt 10, by their engagement with the staple 13, as explained, they maybe secured against accidental release of their waistbands by sliding the keeper-bar 14 so asto engage the loop end of the staple 13 with the kink e in the side member e of the keeper-bar, which will prevent an endwise movement of the keeper-bar if the stapleis so proportioned in length to the number and thickness of the waistbands placed on it as to causemoderate pressure on the keeper-bar.

It is apparent that the improvement is simple in construction, easy to manipulate for successive donning of lower garments offemale dress, and is reliable under all circumstances, as the strain is imposed upon the.

the improved appliance will dispense with hooks and eyes as a'skirtrfastening, which devices are very unreliable and inconvenientto use, and it will be seen that the skirt of the dress may be readily removed by releasing the keeper-bar 14 without deranging the fastenings of the underskirt if it is not desired to remove the latter.

The staple 13 may be furnished in difierent lengths with the appliance if it is made removable, as described, so that garments of light thin material and less in number worn in the summer season may be held in place and properly supported by the use of a staple'of correct length, and by substituting a longer staple the winter skirtsand dress with equal convenience and reliability may be donned and kept in proper relative positions by the employment of the improvement.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. A garment fastener and supporter, comprising a belt securable on a persons waist, a plate secured to the rear of thebelt, a staple projected from the center of the plate and adapted to pass through openings in female garments, and an elongated looped keeperbar slidably held on the staple.

2. A garment fastenerand supporter, comprising a belt securable on a persons waist, a plate secured to the rear of the'belt and provided with an opening at about the center, a removable staple projected through the opening in the plate, for engagement with eyelets in the waistbands or skirts near their plackf ets, the ends of the members of the staple being oppositely bent to form feet which lie against the inner face of the plate and an elongated looped keeper-bar slidably held on the staple and detachably securing the eyelets in place on the staple.

3. A garment fastener and supporter, comprising a belt, a buckle on one end of the belt, a back plate slidably mounted upon the belt and having a slot therein at about its center, a removable staple having the ends of its members bent to form feet adapted to seat on the inner face of the back plate when the staple is inserted through the slot, and an elongated looped keeper-barslidably held on the staple and provided with a kink in one of its mem hers at about the center of length thereof.

t. A garment fastener and supporter, comprising a belt, a buckle thereon, a back plate having slots at the ends adapted to receive the belt, whereby the plate is adjustably mounted upon the belt, and an opening at about its center, a removable staple having the ends of its members bent to form zigzag feet and passingloosely through the opening in the back plate with its feet resting against the rear faceof the said plate, and an elongated keeper-bar formed with spaced side members and looped ends, and having slidable engagement With the staple, one member of the said bar having a kink therein at about the center of its length.

5. In a garment fastener and supporter, a plate provided at each end with two parallel transverse slots to receive a belt, and at its center with a slot, a removable staple having the ends of its members bent to form feet, the

staple projecting through the center slot of the plate with its feet resting against the inner face of the said plate, and an elongated looped keeper-bar loosely engaging the staple and provided with a kink in one of its members at about the center of length thereof, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification in the presence of 

